Endure

I just got home from a late basketball game in Provo. It was snowing pretty bad and the roads were a mess so needless to say my trip home was slow. This gave me some time to ponder. Basketball has always been a release for me. A way for me to let out some stress and not think about things. I love the game and I always will but lately it has been less satisfying. My mind seems to haunt me even on the court. It's like I can't get a free moment without thinking about what I have done and the trial I am going through. Tonight as I was shooting a free throw I literally heard the voices of my kids in my head from this past weekend as we played together. As I sat on the bench I yearned for things to be different, for another chance at the life I once had. How can I possibly make it through this?

Driving down the icy road at 20 miles an hour made me think of my own life. Right now I am in the middle of a blizzard. I know my destination and I know how to get there but the journey will be slow and at times treacherous and difficult. The snow was swirling at hitting my vehicle from every direction and I thought of Satan and the trials in life as they swarm around us. I imagined my car as the "vehicle" that will get me to my eternal destination. I was warm and felt safe from the storm outside. I knew that if I endured the 20 mph drive home to Cedar Hills from Provo I would feel happy and safe when I got home. The vehicle that we all have to get us home is the Savior. His atoning sacrifice is the only way that we can safely make it back to our eternal home. Although the road my be slippery and dangerous or our vision may be blurred and the travel slow, we can be assured that if we endure it well and rely on the Savior we will return safely. It is so hard when the trial you are going through is self-inflicted. To know that you caused the blizzard and the swirling snow is at times an overwhelming burden. Then you add the avalanches from Satan and those people who want to bring you down and you can feel buried beneath a snow bank. With the help of the Savior and sincere honest prayer we can begin to dig ourselves out. And if we endure the pain and hurt, I know that we can unbury ourselves and we will feel the peace that comes from making it through a difficult time. Our Savior has endured every temptation and hardship we will ever face. He asks us to rely on him and endure to the end and to help others along the way.

I know that no matter what storm or blizzard comes our way, we can endure it with the Savior by our side. He is our vehicle. He is the answer. He is the only safe way. ANY trial that you are faced with can be overcome. I have a long journey ahead. We all have a long journey ahead of us. There is no way of predicting when the storms will come only that they WILL come at some point. Lay it at the feet of the Savior and endure to the end and we are promised peace and happiness in this life and in the life to come. I know this to be true.